Is insulin resistance wrecking your heart? (Pt. 2)

Consequences of insulin resistance

When insulin resistance is present, it takes greater amounts of insulin to stimulate proper uptake of glucose from the blood. This elevated blood insulin levels create many problems:

High blood LDL cholesterol levels

Low HDL cholesterol levels

Increased fat storage in the body (obesity)

Type 2 diabetes because of the elevated glucose levels in the blood

Hypertension is associated with elevated levels of insulin in the blood. And because insulin stimulates the sodium-acid pump, when insulin is high we can expect this pump to be more active in several types of body cells like white blood cells and the small resistance arteries that control blood pressure, this results in a higher pH inside cells. Since the main underlying factor behind hypertension is decreased dietary potassium and increased sodium, a good diet to heal and/or prevent insulin resistance is one that is high in the sodium-potasium rate.

What can we do to heal insulin resistance?

In order to correct and heal insulin, diet is key. We have seen how an alkaline diet allows the body to function at its best because it lets cells detoxify themselves. In the case of insulin dis regulation, this diet could be considered the best because of the high amounts of potassium it delivers.

The work of Dr. Richard D. Moore, as we saw in our previous blog, already pointed out at the importance of potassium. He hypothesized that lower potassium levels in the body increase insulin in the blood. As we explained, one of the consequences of the cellular imbalance between sodium and potassium is insulin resistance. For this increase in the tendency to develop insulin resistance to occur, there must be a slowing of the sodium potassium pump all through the body, which decreases the levels of potassium inside the cell.

In disease states, including hypertension, that are accompanied by depletion of body potassium, insulin resistance develops. Thiazide diuretics not only have their intended effect of increasing sodium loss through the kidneys , they also cause the body to lose potassium, therefore they lead to insulin resistance. The development of insulin resistance associated with potassium depletion is probably due to the increased levels of intracellular calcium that results from decreased sodium-calcium exchange as a consequence of slowing of the sodium-potassium pump. This is because increased levels of calcium inside cells decreases their ability to remove glucose from blood in response to insulin.

In health challenges like is the case of insulin resistance, we need to be proactive and take responsibility of our own eating.

The normal medical strategy might not be enough because blood sugar is usually only checked once a year via a blood sugar panel. The good news is that we can monitor our blood sugar daily at home with the use of a very inexpensive blood sugar meter. Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo recommends this method, especially if you have a family history of diabetes or you have abdominal fat. The test anybody concerned about this should be familiar with is called‘ hemoglobin A1C’(HbA1C). A perfect range in this test is 5, which means that around 5% of your red blood cells are glycosylated, this averages to approximately 100. Similarly, other health care professionals like Dr. Douillard recommend this test, and explains this test actually measures the amount of glycation or blood sugar glucose in a blood sample (5).In the medical realm a higher number of hemoglobin is allowed, 5.7, and this is concerning because that translates to a 120-5 reading (4).

Another test that Dr. Douillard recommends is a 2-hour Postprandial Glucose Test that checks blood sugar levels 2 hours after you eat. Ideally, this number should stay below 125 mg/dL.(8)

Because blood sugar dis regulation starts affecting blood circulation first, the‘Heart and Body Extract’ drops can be added to our health protocol, together with a alkaline diet, and the tests we mentioned above.

Concluding

In previous blogs we saw how an acidic pH (metabolic acidosis) produces insulin resistance and systemic hypertension. This is because the right ratio of sodium and potassium is needed to maintain the right pH inside the cell, and this pH allows for the proper blood sugar regulation the body needs. Since just a slight increase in sugar in the blood can be the beginning of great damage in the proteins and fat tissue in our body, a proactive approach is needed on our part to keep this at bay. Blood sugar can be monitored from home on a daily basis. The ‘Heart and Body Extract’ can be a great tool in bringing our sugar back to normal levels as well.